What are you going to be watching in July? With thanks to our friends at Nando‘s, we round up everything coming to streaming services this month, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, Neon and TVNZ OnDemand.
The biggies
I Think You Should Leave (season 2 on Netflix from July 6)
I can probably count on one hand the amount of times a TV show has made me laugh so hard that I feared my soul would whiff right out of body. I Think You Should Leave, Tim Robinson’s absolutely preposterous sketch show, is responsible for at least three of them. The former Saturday Night Live writer, who also co-wrote and starred in the extremely good Detroiters, returns with a second season on July 7, and I am beside myself with anticipation. Here’s hoping it is more thrilling than the night the skeletons came to life, more breathtaking than choking on a jalapeno popper in front of Caleb Wendt, and goes as viral as mud pie on too small a slice. Don’t know what any of that means? Watch all of season one here. / Alex Casey
The White Lotus (limited series on Neon from July 19)
A satire about a bunch of privileged people at a Hawaiian resort doesn’t sound much like must-watch television. But after bingeing all six episodes via pre-release screeners, I can tell you this is one of the most excruciatingly uncomfortable series I’ve ever seen, and I couldn’t stop myself from watching the whole thing in a single sitting. It comes from the brain of Mike White, who is the Rembrandt of uncomfortable television (he also wrote the film School of Rock and created the superb Enlightened), and stars Connie Britton, Steve Zahn, Natasha Rothwell and a never better Jennifer Coolidge. Get on this the moment it drops. / Sam Brooks
We Are Lady Parts (on Neon from July 9)
It’s only July, but I’m calling it: this is the sitcom of 2021. I don’t even know what the competition is, but We Are Lady Parts will blow it out of the water, regardless. This irreverent British sitcom follows 26 year old PhD student Amina as she becomes the unlikely lead guitarist in an all-female Muslim punk rock band called Lady Parts. Given she gets nervous diarrhea when she performs in public and all she really wants is a husband, Amina’s in for a tricky time. Pulsing with humour and heart, We Are Lady Parts celebrates the power of female friendship and comes with one heck of a soundtrack to keep you going once you’ve binged the too-short season. / Tara Ward
Ted Lasso (season 2 on Apple+ from July 23)
The happiest, least cynical comedy ever is back for season two. I went into the first season of Ted Lasso expecting to hate it. It’s incredibly American (despite being set in England), disgustingly wholesome, features “sport”, and stars the seemingly too-smug Jason Sudeikis. Yet, over the course of 10 short episodes I quickly fell in love with the irrepressible Coach Ted and his underdog team. Season two looks set to be more of the same and I cannot wait./ Stewart Sowman-Lund
The notables
Fear Street (television event on Netflix from July 3)
R.L. Stine’s Fear Street series, set in the spooky town of Shadyside, was a level-up for kids who’d spent primary school reading his Goosebumps books. Instead of scaring us with teachers who were really giant praying mantises or alien schoolmates who ate through their armpits, Fear Street taught young teens about the scariest monsters of all: normal human beings (and ghosts). Netflix’s Fear Street series consists of three slasher films based in Stine’s Shadyside, set in three separate years: 1994, 1978, and 1666. They’ll have murder, betrayal, teenagers, and potentially the odd supernatural spook. The cast is made up of relative unknowns, but there are two Stranger Things alums – Sadie Sink and Maya Hawke – plus Community’s Gillian Jacobs as a token adult. / Josie Adams
Clarice (on TVNZ OnDemand from July 18)
Silence of the Lambs is a top five movie for me and Hannibal is probably the best TV series ever made. Clarice – set post-Lambs, and replacing Jodie Foster (or Julianne Moore) with Home and Away regular Rebecca Breeds – looks… nothing like the source material. But that’s fine! If it can keep me entertained until Bryan Fuller gets to reboot Hannibal I’ll be alright. / SS-L
Never Have I Ever (season 2 on Netflix from July 15)
The delightful coming-of-age comedy inspired by Mindy Kaling’s childhood is back for a second season, and we should all be glad about it. Funny, smart and brutally honest, Never Have I Ever follows 15 year old Devi as she deals with the trials of normal teenage life as well as her grief over her father’s death. It’s as quirky as it is heartwarming, and even though John McEnroe (yes, the tennis guy) narrates the whole thing, it’s a winner from start to finish. / TW
Young And… (docuseries on TVNZ OnDemand weekly from July 8)
This new series focuses on young New Zealanders and the myriad issues that matter to them, featuring diverse stories about sexuality, culture, gender and social identity from a rangatahi perspective. Each episode is standalone, told by a different filmmaker, all of whom are in their 20s, with must-click titles like ‘Young and the Reckless’, ‘On the Paepae’ and ‘Can’t Cum’. It’s a series that promises a great insight into what is really going on with our young people, a sentence which makes me sound as old as the dust. / SB
The movies
Black Widow (on Disney+ from July 9)
It’s been over a year since the last new Marvel movie and in Marvel years that is… about a decade. Starring Scarlett Johansson as the character that was once just a leather-clad supporting role, Black Widow had been in the pipeline for years before getting delayed even further due to Covid-19. Finally, we’ll get to see it – and with a supporting cast that includes Rachel Weisz and Florence Pugh, I couldn’t be more excited (until the next Marvel flick comes along). / SS-L
Baby Done (on Neon from July 4)
Edinburgh Festival Award winner Rose Matafeo and Matthew Lewis, the artist formerly known as Neville Longbottom, team up for a charming New Zealand comedy about a pregnant woman completely losing her shit. Matafeo shines as the confused, feisty Zoe, who wants to have a baby but doesn’t want to “turn into a mum”. She becomes obsessed with completing an adventurous to-do list, which results in a number of watch-between-your-fingers awkward situations that had me crying with laughter and then sympathy. A spicy romp-com with a heart of gold. / Leonie Hayden
Dynasty Warriors (on Netflix from July 1)
This is a film based on a video game series which itself was based on a 14th century Chinese novel, a semi-historical retelling of the nation’s Three Kingdom period, which lasted from 184CE to 280CE. If that doesn’t interest you, you’ve probably already clicked out of this tab. If it does, you’ve probably also already clicked out of this tab in a rush to watch it on Netflix. No judgment either way, but I’m definitely in the latter group after watching the trailer, which looks hammier than a butcher’s shop but wonderful all the same. / SB
This post is made possible by our friends at Nando’s.
The rest
Netflix
July 1
Generation 56K
Young Royals
Dynasty Warriors
Audible
Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway
Kung Fu Panda 3
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible II
Mission: Impossible III
Yolngu Boy
July 2
Mortel: Season 2
Big Timber
Haseen Dillruba
The 8th Night
The Fear Street Trilogy: Fear Street Part 1: 1994
July 4
We The People
July 5
You Are My Spring
July 6
I Think You Should Leave: Season 2
July 7
The War Next Door
The Mire: ’97
Major Grom: Plague Doctor
Cat People
Dogs: Season 2
July 8
Elize Matsunaga: Once Upon a Crime
Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness
July 9
Atypical: Season 4
The Cook of Castamar
Biohackers: Season 2
Last Summer
The Fear Street Trilogy: Fear Street Part 2: 1978
How I Became a Superhero
Lee Su-geun: The Sense Coach
The Water People
July 13
Ridley Jones
July 14
My Unorthodox Life
A Classic Horror Story
The Guide to the Perfect Family
Private Network: Who Killed Manuel Buendia?
Heist
July 15
Never Have I Ever: Season 2
A Perfect Fit
My Amanda
Emicida: AmarElo – Live in Sao Paulo
Beastars: Season 2
July 16
Van Helsing: Season 5
The Fear Street Trilogy: Fear Street Part 3: 1666
Explained: Season 3
Deep
Johnny Test
July 20
The Billion Dollar Flower Market
July 21
Too Hot to Handle: Brazil
Sexy Beasts
Chernobyl 1986
Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans
July 22
Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop
July 23
Masters of the Universe: Revelation
Bankrolled
Kingdom: Ashin of the North
Blood Red Sky
The Last Letter From Your Letter
The Movies That Made Us: Season 2
A Second Chance: Rivals
July 27
Mighty Express: Season 4
July 28
The Snitch Cartel: Origins
Tattoo Rado
July 29
Resort to Love
Transformers: War for Cybertron Kingdom
July 30
Glow Up: Season 3
The Last Mercenary
Myth and Mogul: John DeLorean
Centaurworld
Neon
July 1
Eden: Season 1
Chocolate Perfection with Michel Roux: Season 1
July 2
Sicario
The Dark Side of Football
July 3
Downton Abbey: Seasons 1-6
SouthPaw
July 4
Baby Done
Michael Palin: Travels of a Lifetime: Season 1
July 5
The Girlfriend Experience
July 6
Bridget Jones’ Diary
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
Bridget Jones’ Baby
July 8
Ride Like A Girl
July 9
Redemption Day
We Are Lady Parts
July 10
Combat Wombat
Les Miserables
July 10
Hotel Transylvania: Season 2
The Hardy Boys
The Devil You Know: Season 2
Animal Kingdom: Season 5
A-Z Guide for Girls
Zerby Derby: Season 3
July 11
Escape from Pretoria
July 13
Nim’s Island
4th and Forever: Alcoa
4th and Forever: Muck City
July 14
Clever Brenda
Hopster Minis Playlist
In Treatment: Season 4
July 15
Babyteeth
July 16
Land Of The Lost
One Night in Bangkok
Pop ‘n Olly
Louis Theroux: Shooting Joe Exotic
July 17
Oslo
July 18
Tenet
July 19
Inside Man
The White Lotus
July 20
Sudden Death
The Billion Dollar Flower Market
July 22
The Broken Hearts Gallery
Sanditon
July 23
The Doorman
Heart of Darkness
July 24
Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar
July 25
Big Time Adolescence
July 26
Time
July 27
Love & Mercy
Hate Thy Neighbour
July 28
Who Is America?
July 29
How To Build A Girl
July 30
Hacksaw Ridge
The Dark Side of The Ring
July 31
Waves
TVNZ OnDemand
July 1
Nashville: Season 1-6
Pulse
Junior Bake Off
Momma Named Me Sheriff
Clash
Dede
Esta Todo Bien – It’s All Good
Shooting of the Pontiff
Janis: Little Girl Blue
Earth in 1000 Years
The Real MVP: The Wanda Durant Story
He Loves Me
Restless Virgins
Ann Rule’s A Murder to Remember
Alaska’s Ultimate Bush Pilots: Season 2
Big Water Adventures: Season 5
Into the Outback with Abbey Holmes
Holly Stars: Inspirational: Season 2
The Sherry Vine Variety Show
Face to Face with David: Season 2
Club Six
Forced Perspective
Brainwashing my Dad
July 3
Batwoman
July 8
Young And…
July 10
Temptation Island
July 12
Tales of Nai Nai
July 15
American Woman
July 18
Clarice
July 27
Roswell, New Mexico
July 28
Zomboat!
Disney+
July 2
Disney Raven’s Home: Season 4
July 7
Monsters at Work
Pikwik Pack
Air Crash Investigation: Season 12
American Housewife
July 9
Black Widow
Shark Beach with Chris Hemsworth
Drain Alcatraz
Drain The Bermuda Triangle
Drain The Pirate City
Drain The Titanic
Miraculous World: The Legend of Ladydragon Shanghai
July 14
Running Wild with Bear Grylls: Season 6
July 16
McCartney 3,2,1
Confessions of a Shopaholic
When in Rome
Most Wanted Sharks
Secrets of the Bull Shark
Shark vs Surfer
Shark vs Tuna
Shark vs Whale
Sharkatraz
Sharkcano
What the Shark?
July 21
Turner & Hooch
Behind The Attraction
The Amazing Race (Australia): Season 1-4
July 23
Stuntman
Playing With Sharks
Chariots of Fire
Disney Duck The Hals: A Mickey Mouse Christmas Special
July 28
Chip ‘n’ Dale: Park Life
Turning The Tables with Robin Roberts
The Art of Racing in Rain
July 30
Jungle Cruise
Amazon Prime Video
July 2
The Tomorrow War
July 9
Luxe Listings Sydney
July 14
Bucky Larson Born To Be A Star
Cold Comes The Night
Damsels in Distress
Faster
Hello, My Name is Doris
In A World…
Jumping The Broom
Kill Your Darlings
Kramer vs KRamer
Resident Evil
Resident Evil: Afterlife
Resident Evil: Damnation
Resident Evil: Extinction
Resident Evil: Retribution
Son of Saul
Steel Magnolias
Take Shelter
The End of the Tour
The Virginity Hit
War Room
July 16
Making The Cut: Season 2
July 23
Jolt
July 24
War With Grandpa
July 25
Rules Don’t Apply
July 30
A Good Old Fashioned Orgy
Bless Me, Ultima
Death At A Funeral
Detention
Digging for Fire
Drinking Buddies
Evil Dead
The Forest
Freaks of Nature
Inside Job
Mei Ren Yu
Nine
One Direction: This is Us
Premium Rush
Robot and Frank
Smashed
Starship Troopers: Invasion
Straw Dogs
The Perfect Guy
The Pursuit of Love
Penguins of Madagascar
Apple TV+
July 16
Schmigadoon!
July 23
Ted Lasso: Season 2
July 31
Watch the Sound with Mark Ronson
Acorn TV
July 5
Ms. Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries Season 2, Episode 6
Proof: Season 1-2
Black Work
July 12
The Boy with the Topknot
Ms. Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries Season 2, Episode 7
Agatha Christie: 100 Years of Poirot and Miss Marple
Rectify
July 19
Outlier
Ms. Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries, Season 2, Episode 8
Missing: Season 1-2
July 26
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
London Kills: Season 2
Murdoch Mysteries: Season 10 + Christmas Special